Phylogeography of the blue tit ( Parus teneriffae -group) on the Canary Islands based on mitochondrial DNA sequence data and morphometrics

An analysis of the sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (1005 bp) of the Parus teneriffae-group from the Canary Islands and North Africa revealed new insights into the phylogeography of this taxon. The origin of the radiation on the Canarian Archipelago was apparently one of the central islands—Tenerife or Gran Canaria. The populations on El Hierro (P. t. ombriosus) and La Palma (P. t. palmensis) represent distinct monophyletic lineages. Blue tits from Gran Canaria are genetically distinct from those of La Gomera and Tenerife (P. t. teneriffae), which supports the results of other studies and suggests the existence of an—until now—undescribed taxon there. In contrast, the populations on the eastern islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote (P. t. degener) could not be distinguished from North African blue tits (P. t. ultramarinus), and these populations should be subsumed under the subspecies ultramarinus. Taxonomic recommendations based on these results include the distinction of the northern European P. caeruleus from P. teneriffae, including blue tits from North Africa and the Canary Islands, the treatment of degener and ultramarinus as synonymous (P. teneriffae ultramarinus) and a new blue tit taxon on the island of Gran Canaria (P. t. hedwigii nov. ssp.), which is formally described. The genetic results are in parts supported by bioacoustic and morphological data.     

New reports and description of a new species of Sabellidae (Annelida) for the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Archipelago

Sabellidae species from the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Archipelago waters, including the North-eastern Atlantic Ocean and Cantabrian and westernmost Mediterranean Seas, were studied. The species Amphicorina rovignensis, Dialychone dunerificta, D. usticensis, Euchone cf. limnicola, Euchone cf. pseudolimnicola, Megalomma lanigera, Parasabella tenuicollaris and P. tommasi are recorded for the first time in the area. Bispira primaoculata sp. nov. is a newly described species for the Alborán Sea, characterized by having semicircular branchial lobes, rounded and long dorsal basal flanges, an axial skeleton composed of six longitudinal rows of vacuolated cells, up to three pairs of compound eyes per radiole mainly distributed in the distal half of the crown, appearing at the level of the dorsalmost pair of radioles, and a first chaetiger maximally twice as long as subsequent ones. New information about the habitats of A. rovignensis, D. dunerificta and M. lanigera is also provided.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:377167DA-9F26-4FA3-9C26-07C5EF3EE66D     

A new species of the genus Amolops (Anura: Ranidae) from high-altitude Sichuan,southwestern China,with a discussion on the taxonomic status of Amolops kangtingensis

A new species of the genus Amolops Cope,1865 is described from Xinduqiao,Kangding,Sichuan.It was previously identified as Amolops kangtingensis,which is synonymized to Amolops mantzorum in this study.The new species,Amolops xinduqiao sp.nov.,is distinguished from all other congeners by the following combination of characters:(1) medium body size,adult males SVL 41.2-47.5 mm (n=15,average 43.9 mm),adult females SVL 48.5-56.6 mm (n=15,average 52.5 mm);(2) head length equal to width or slightly wider than long;(3) tympanum small,but distinct;(4) vomerine teeth in two tiny rows,separated by a space about one vomerine teeth row;(5) bony projections on lower jaw absent;(6) dorsolateral folds usually absent;(7) tarsal folds or glands on tarsus absent;(8) circummarginal groove on disc of finger Ⅰ absent;(9) tibiotarsal articulation reaching nostril or beyond;(10) webs of toe Ⅳ reaching to distal articulation,other toes fully webbed to disc;and (11) vocal sac absent in males.     

A small, “wader-like” bird from the Early Eocene of Messel (Germany)

A small bird with a shorebird-like beak and a very long hind toe is described from the Early Eocene of Messel in Germany. Vanolimicola longihallucis, gen. et sp. nov. is one of the few candidate species for a “wading bird” from Messel, that is, a bird that may have foraged along the shoreline of the ancient lake. A few features indicate a relationship to charadriiform birds and Jacanidae (jacanas) in particular, but charadriiform affinities are only weakly supported. In the preserved skeletal elements, V. longihallucis also resembles the taxon Songzia from the Early Eocene of China, which is considered to be a representative of the Ralloidea (rails and allies). A potential biogeographic significance of the new Messel fossil is strengthened by similar fossils from the North American Green River Formation.     

共生有生殖器官的Anomozamites的新发现

海房沟异羽叶的新联合(Anomozamites haifanggouensis (Kimura et al.) comb. nov.)是辽西和内蒙古东部中侏罗统海房沟组一种特有的本内苏铁类植物.仅发现一块标本(正、反面印痕).标本上保存3枚营养羽叶,它们同几个苞片状的小叶和一些小孢子叶联合在一起,但球果的雌蕊群部分未被保存.标本被收集于内蒙古东部的宁城县山头乡道虎村附近,产于中侏罗统海房沟组.以往在辽西葫芦岛市的南票和白马石乡上三角城等地的同一层位中也曾发现过很多分散保存的苞片状小叶和相似的小孢子叶.它们最初被潘广(1983)认为是一种双子叶的半被子植物(Cycadicotis),并将小孢子叶视为"具皱纹的雌性种囊".后来,又经Kimura等(1994)详细研究,因未找到任何与被子植物有关的证据,将它们归入一个分类位置不明的形态属Pankuangia,并被描述在P. haifanggouensis种名之下.研究结果表明,本文中被研究的标本是同本内苏铁类的Anomozamites异羽叶相连,从而为这些分散保存的生殖器官的确切分类位置的确定提供了有力的证据.     

Wickerhamomyces edaphicus sp. nov. and Pichia jaroonii sp. nov., two ascomycetous yeast species isolated from forest soil in Thailand

Four yeast strains were isolated from soil in a mixed deciduous forest in Amphoe Wang Nam Khiao, Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand. On the basis of morphological, biochemical, physiological and chemotaxonomic characteristics, and the sequence analyses of the D1/D2 domain of the large-subunit (LSU) rRNA gene, small-subunit rRNA gene and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region, the three strains (S-29, S-63 and S-80) were found to represent a single species of the genus Wickerhamomyces , which were named Wickerhamomyces edaphicus sp. nov. The type strain is S-29^T (BCC 21231^T=NBRC 101969^T=CBS 10408^T). Strain S-75 represented a novel species of the genus Pichia on the basis of morphological, biochemical, physiological and chemotaxonomic characteristics, and the sequence analyses of the D1/D2 domain of the LSU rRNA gene, for which the name Pichia jaroonii sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is S-75^T (BCC 23061^T, NRBC 102180^T=CBS 10930^T).